1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a floor used in escalators and passenger conveyors (hereinafter, referred to passenger conveyor as a general term), in particular to a floor for a passenger conveyor having a lift in a machine room for easily opening and closing the floor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A passenger conveyor is generally mounted inclined between stories or mounted horizontally for carrying passengers continuously.
As shown in FIG. 1, the passenger conveyor includes balustrades 10, a step unit 20 for carrying passengers, and a machine room 30 receiving a driving machine for driving the step unit 20.
The step unit 20 includes a plurality of steps 21 for providing space of passengers to stand thereon, and a step chain 22 for connecting each of the steps 21. Though not shown in the figure, a guide rail is mounted in the passenger conveyor for guiding the steps 21.
The machine room 30 includes a motor 31 for providing rotating torque with use of electric power and a reducer 32 for amplifying the rotating torque of the motor 31 and reducing the rotating velocity of the motor 31. In addition, a driving shaft 33 is connected to the step chain 22 in parallel with an axis of the reducer 32 in order to receive driving force from the axis of the reducer 32 through a driving chain 34. By using the driving force transmitted to the driving shaft 33, a driving terminal gear 35 drives the steps 21.
Therefore, the driving force generated by the motor 31 in the machine room 30 is transmitted to the reducer 32, and the rotating torque reduced by the reducer 32 is then transmitted to the driving shaft 33 through the driving chain 34. Then, in accordance with rotation of the driving shaft 33, the driving terminal gear 35 drives the steps 21 with rotating in engagement with the step chain 22, so that the steps 21 may circulate.
The balustrade 10 includes panels 11 mounted in both sides of the steps 21 for serving as a side wall, and hand rails 12 mounted on the panels 11 for circulating along a regular path. When passengers moves on the steps 21, the hand rail 12 serves as a grip for a passenger to take hold of, so moving correspondingly in same speed as the steps 21 for ensuring passengers safety.
Floors F are mounted in starting and ending position of the steps 21 where passengers get on or off. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, it can be shown that the floor F is mounted upon the machine room 30 provided in both ends of the passenger conveyor. The floor F serves as a footing extended from the steps 21 when passengers get on or off, and in addition serves as a cover of the machine room 30. Therefore, the floor F can be detached from the machine room 30 in case of repair or maintenance of devices in the machine room 30.
The floor F is assembled with two or three plates, made of steel or aluminum, so having about 25 kg in weight. The floor F is fixed on an upper portion of the machine room and positioned in same height as surroundings such that passengers should not stumble at the floor F when boarding on the passenger conveyor.
FIG. 3 is a cross-section side view showing the floor F mounted in the passenger conveyor according to the conventional art. As shown in the figure, the floor F includes a cover plate 36 which can be opened, and a base plate 37 disposed on the upper portion of the machine room 30 for fixing and supporting the cover plate 36. The cover plate 36 is firmly fixed to the base plate 37 by a connecting device such as a bolt in operation of the passenger conveyor. However, when it is needed to enter the machine room in order to repair any malfunction therein, the floor F can be opened by removing the bolt, inserting a bolt-shaped instrument into a bolt hole, and pulling the cover plate 36 with use of the bolt-shaped instrument.
However, the conventional floor F is too heavy and large for one person to carry, which can be sometimes cause of any accident. In addition, when detaching the floor F from the passenger conveyor, the floor F should be kept in a suitable place and a safety fence should be installed around a working spot. Therefore, in case of repair or maintenance, a lot of working place is required, so decreasing efficiency of working.
Moreover, in order to open the floor F, a man should remove the bolt and insert the bolt-shaped instrument into the bolt hole, so taking much time and energy to separate the floor F.